I try to figure out the blind shots that, say, dorito side would have on me. So I know to be cautious if I come up. Also, at practice, looking at the snake from the point of view of a different position helps. You find shots you didn't know you had. Or, that others have on you. But communication with your back player is key. Especially because you get bunkered 10x more than d side does.

couple things :
1) when communicating with your back player, turn your head backwards and yell, nobody can hear you screaming into the ground
2) when you get into the snake, do a quick head check, and keep going. go up the snake until you can't go anymore. your job isn't to get to the snake and gun-battle. your job is to get the snake and get down there and shoot people in the back of the head
3) don't gun battle. you need to stay alive, you need guns and eyes on you.
4) play the entire bunker. don't just get into the wedge of the bunker and stay put. if you need to crawl backwards and shoot out the first part of the snake if you know what I mean. basically play the entire bunker.

hopefully that helps you some. if you're playing snake you need to be fast. watch the pros play snake, then go watch some newer players. notice the pros get in there and within seconds are usually at the 50 or farther. the new players stick around and gun battle. battling has it's place but it shouldn't ever be your first priority.

If you have enough practice time play the dorito side some. Lets you see what your opponents see. Get a buddy to move up and down snake while you watch from different positions on the other side of the field.
If you can play the whole snake thats awesome, but better to be sitting in a cake attracting guns than shot out because you tried to play the middle of the beam. The pros and really good snake players make playing the beam look a lot easier than it really is. Practice playing the beam, but it will take a while to really get good at it.
Make sure your corner understands his job. If you get shot out while you're trying to move because your corner was crossed up then it is his fault for crossing, and yours for not making sure he knows what to do. He covers tape, and you shoot cross field(the majority of the time).
Like other people said, don't gun battle. If you have two guys shooting at you thats two less guns shooting at the other guys on your team. Once you move up you draw fire and let dorito move up. Then he starts drawing fire while you move up.
When you play snake it is playing a game of angles.

couple things :
3) don't gun battle. you need to stay alive, you need guns and eyes on you.
4) play the entire bunker. don't just get into the wedge of the bunker and stay put. if you need to crawl backwards and shoot out the first part of the snake if you know what I mean. basically play the entire bunker.

these combined will make a HUGE difference. once you get in the snake, it's your job to stay alive, not to go be a hero. You being int he snake will draw enough attention that your other teammates will be free to go to work.

Stay calm, play tight, and let the other team know your'e still there by popping up on occasion and taking some shots. Never pop up int he same place twice, because chances are they'll be shooting at where they last saw you. NEVER get ina gun battle over the top of the snake. If you've got an open shot, take it. If they're shooting at you, stay on the ground; you'll almost always loose a gun battle.

from my experience, having a good back player on your side and communicating with them makes a world of difference.
It's like having them be your eyes while you're laying on the ground taking fire from, hopefully, multiple people.

And it's definitely alright to just lay low for a little and draw fire. You don't need to be popping up every two seconds to shoot across the field. If you see streams of paint over your head, there's no point in going into it.